Kelly Caballero (Sagayno) lived a life that every Coyote from the class of 1996 could be proud of.
I will do my best to briefly sum up the life of this special woman in just a few short words.
After graduating from Deniar high, Kelly studied to be a teacher at Stan State. We began to date in the beginning of her junior year and eventually married on February 26, 2000. Children were not to far behind. In 2002, our daughter Mia was born. Mia has grown to be a beautiful 13-year old young lady whose spunk is directly inherited from her mama. Micah, our son, was born in 2005. Every time I look at his 11-year old face, I can see his close resemblance to Kelly Lynn.
Kelly worked as an executive assistant at an IBM lab in South San Jose. However, as soon as Mia was born, we made the decision that she would stay home to care for our growing family. If you were to look up the definition of a mom in the dictionary, I believe you will see her portrait. She loved her children with every fiber of her being and for the rest of her short life did everything she could to care for them. In fact, the love she had for her babies helped her fight the terrible disease that eventually ended her life.
When she wasn't keeping up with Mia or reading books to Micah, she was busy working for her Lord, Jesus Christ. Kelly was involved in numerous ministries at her local church such as: youth, marriage, nursery, small group, choir (she had a beautiful singing voice) and college & career. She also directed an annual Easter drama that had over 100 cast members. In addition, she attempted to plant a new church in San Rafael with me. In her spare time away from ministry, Kelly enjoyed decorating, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.
After our best effort to plant a church, we moved to the Valley and eventually settled in Ballico near our family. Kelly went back to school and was in the process of changing her major from liberal studies to communications.
However, during the first few months of 2011 Kelly noticed that she was not feeling well and attempted to find out what was wrong. She endured numerous doctor visits, lab tests and a visit to the ER. We eventually received the terrible news that Kelly was suffering from stage IV colon cancer. She battled this sickness for nearly three years. She bravely endured chemotherapy, radiation, 5 surgeries and countless doctor visits, scans and blood tests. Kelly showed nothing but grace and courage in the face of this awful disease. Her unshakeable faith in God remained until she went home to be with her Lord on January 19, 2014.
She coined a phrase during her sickness, “Faith is not ignoring reality, but knowing God is real.” This statement and the truth it represents helped us get through many trying times during her battle with cancer.
Her funeral service was beautiful. Nearly 1,200 people gathered in Stockton to celebrate a life well lived. Kelly and I were blessed by many Denair High alumni during her sickness and subsequent passing. Several friends prayed for Kelly and visited her while she received hospice care. Many former Coyotes also served as greeters during her funeral service and organized participation in a walk-a-thon to celebrate her memory. I will always fondly remember and appreciate the kindness shown by Stefani, Anica, Robin, Kara and others.
Kelly Lynn will forever be loved and missed. The ache in our hearts has been comforted by the fact that she no longer suffers from cancer and that she is with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because we share the same faith in God, we have the promise of seeing her again in heaven some day.
I congratulate you all and wish you the best on your 20-year reunion. Thank you for the opportunity to honor Kelly Lynn on this site.
Steve Caballero
Kelly Caballero (Sagayno) lived a life that every Coyote from the class of 1996 could be proud of.
I will do my best to briefly sum up the life of this special woman in just a few short words.
After graduating from Deniar high, Kelly studied to be a teacher at Stan State. We began to date in the beginning of her junior year and eventually married on February 26, 2000. Children were not to far behind. In 2002, our daughter Mia was born. Mia has grown to be a beautiful 13-year old young lady whose spunk is directly inherited from her mama. Micah, our son, was born in 2005. Every time I look at his 11-year old face, I can see his close resemblance to Kelly Lynn.
Kelly worked as an executive assistant at an IBM lab in South San Jose. However, as soon as Mia was born, we made the decision that she would stay home to care for our growing family. If you were to look up the definition of a mom in the dictionary, I believe you will see her portrait. She loved her children with every fiber of her being and for the rest of her short life did everything she could to care for them. In fact, the love she had for her babies helped her fight the terrible disease that eventually ended her life.
When she wasn't keeping up with Mia or reading books to Micah, she was busy working for her Lord, Jesus Christ. Kelly was involved in numerous ministries at her local church such as: youth, marriage, nursery, small group, choir (she had a beautiful singing voice) and college & career. She also directed an annual Easter drama that had over 100 cast members. In addition, she attempted to plant a new church in San Rafael with me. In her spare time away from ministry, Kelly enjoyed decorating, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.
After our best effort to plant a church, we moved to the Valley and eventually settled in Ballico near our family. Kelly went back to school and was in the process of changing her major from liberal studies to communications.
However, during the first few months of 2011 Kelly noticed that she was not feeling well and attempted to find out what was wrong. She endured numerous doctor visits, lab tests and a visit to the ER. We eventually received the terrible news that Kelly was suffering from stage IV colon cancer. She battled this sickness for nearly three years. She bravely endured chemotherapy, radiation, 5 surgeries and countless doctor visits, scans and blood tests. Kelly showed nothing but grace and courage in the face of this awful disease. Her unshakeable faith in God remained until she went home to be with her Lord on January 19, 2014.
She coined a phrase during her sickness, “Faith is not ignoring reality, but knowing God is real.” This statement and the truth it represents helped us get through many trying times during her battle with cancer.
Her funeral service was beautiful. Nearly 1,200 people gathered in Stockton to celebrate a life well lived. Kelly and I were blessed by many Denair High alumni during her sickness and subsequent passing. Several friends prayed for Kelly and visited her while she received hospice care. Many former Coyotes also served as greeters during her funeral service and organized participation in a walk-a-thon to celebrate her memory. I will always fondly remember and appreciate the kindness shown by Stefani, Anica, Robin, Kara and others.
Kelly Lynn will forever be loved and missed. The ache in our hearts has been comforted by the fact that she no longer suffers from cancer and that she is with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because we share the same faith in God, we have the promise of seeing her again in heaven some day.
I congratulate you all and wish you the best on your 20-year reunion. Thank you for the opportunity to honor Kelly Lynn on this site.
Blessings,
Steve Caballero